Eeeeek! It’s the final #guestreview post from my ‘lil star Claire Knight for 2017 and what a way to end it – VIRAL by Helen Fitzgerald! #BOOM! Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for Claire’s blog ….. yes, my baby possum is leaving the nest…#ProudMamaPossum … A Knight’s Read will be coming your way in early 2018! Woohoo!
Synopsis
So far, twenty-three thousand and ninety-six people have seen me online.
Su has always been the successful sister. It’s Leah who is wild and often angry. But when they go to Magaluf to celebrate their exam results, Su disappears.
Su is on the run, humiliated and afraid. There’s an online video of her performing multiple sex acts in a nightclub. And everyone has seen it.
Their mother Ruth, a prominent court judge, is furious. Can she bring justice to the men who took advantage of her daughter, and what will it take to bring Su home?
Claire’s Rating: 4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Claire’s Review:
When Viral was released, all the hubbub was about its opening sentence; six words that set the scene for the whole book. And yes they do have a huge impact. But this book is so much more than these rather unique opening six words; it’s the journey of a family affected by these six words.
Su-Jin is desperate to get the relationship back with her sister and will do anything to fit in with her sister and her friends. She is the total opposite of her adopted sister which makes her life so much more difficult. Her sister is a bully, making snide remarks, excluding her, ignoring her. She goes from a prim and proper studious teetotal teenager to excess drinking in Magaluf, make up and skimpy clothes. How far would you go to fit in?
This book is one you cannot pigeonhole. But one label you can give it is “page turner”. The way the author kept jumping between Su-Jin to her adopted mother kept me reading as their lives dramatically and rapidly fall apart; would there be a reconciliation? Would this family be fractured beyond repair? Viral has a different sort of intrigue and suspense. The writing style was enticing to read and gripped my interest throughout. I’ve got a few of Helen Fitzgerald’s other novels lined up on my kindle so they may have to be tackled in 2018!
Many thanks to Faber & Faber and Netgalley for my copy of Viral.
Cracking review, Claire! I’ve had this on my TBR for ages and will be bumping it up to read in early 2018! ??
